Nuts & Bolts - Case Study: Boosting Search to Get Missing Kids Found

After the campaign finished, its effects on NCMEC's placements were more apparent. Rodriguez says, "overall SERP position remained improved by approximately 0.5."

At 2.4 in September 2012, she says the organization's average SERP ranking improved yet again a few weeks later and, as of presstime, remained high.

"If you type in 'Missing Child,'" she says, "we not only come up on the right … but then you will see … above the fold, they're almost all for us."

Rodriguez says the September events at Old Navy stores are NCMEC's "largest safety awareness fundraiser[s] using SEM." As for the funds raised, the 2012 events brought in more than $344,000 due to Old Navy's offer to customers to "make a small donation to help missing kids and you receive 10 percent off your total purchase."

She says: "We have built out a new digital media team that is excited to get followers, strengthen our base, use social media and SEM to broaden our reach, and hopefully get more strategic in how we optimize our SEM potential."

Rodriguez says this year's aim, as always, is to protect as many children and inform as many families as possible about keeping kids safe.